I had a difficult and emotional conversation recently with a beloved member of my family regarding Senator Obama's position on "partial-birth" abortions.
I don't really like the idea of abortion at all, quite frankly, and I know I could never have made the choice to have one. However, I am equally uncomfortable with dictating to other women the choices they can make. I noted to this family member that Sen. Obama's objection to the bill was based on the fact that there was no exception to be made if the life and/or health of the mother was at stake.
Now you will find those who say there is never a health reason for a "partial-birth" abortion. If this is the case, then where is the harm in putting that clause into the bill? It would be incumbent upon the doctor to show cause for performing the procedure, so I think that would preclude much abuse. And, if they are so dangerous, I think only women in dire circumstances would make the choice to have this type of abortion. (Call me logical, but that's how I see it!)
On the other hand, my research shows that there actually are cases (specifically hydrocephalus) that can occur late in pregnancy, in which the fetus' head can be nearly three times the size of the adult human head. If that isn't a life-threatening situation for the mother, then I don't know how else to define it!
So then we have the argument that a Caesarian section would be preferable. Well, preferable perhaps for the fetus, but having had one I can assure you it's no picnic, either. And, as with all major surgeries, a C-section carries its own risks.
So what I read into all of the abortion debate - whether partial-birth, therapeutic, or for any other reason - is that, if you are anti-choice, the woman is NEVER a consideration. The scales are always balanced in favor of the fetus, regardless of the circumstances. If the woman has been raped, even if by a family member, it's just too bad for her. She still must bear the consequences of someone else's actions. If her life is in danger, or if her health may be permanently impaired, well, that's too bad, too.
After all - and this is the crux of the discussion for me - she is only a woman and can be replaced by some other woman. If she dies and leaves behind a living baby and perhaps other children - well, that's okay. We'll find someone else to be a mother to those kids.
I think this is part of the inspiration for the Women's Movement in the 60s and 70s: not so much abortion on demand, but the demand that women be viewed as individuals, not as replaceable bodies. For too many years we allowed ourselves to be relegated to second- or third-class positions. Other women raised our babies, particularly prior to the 20th century when so many women died in childbirth. Other women breast-fed our babies, so that we could keep our figures for the men who demanded it.
Oddly, I never really considered myself a feminist, and for many years abortion was anathema to me. But as I've gotten older, I've seen people in circumstances that had never touched me before and it has softened my once hard heart. I still wish no one ever chose abortion, but I don't have the right to take that choice away.
And neither does the government.
According to Stephen Levitt, author of the book Freakonomics (which applies economic theory to analyze past events), an interesting turn of events occurred in the early 1990's. Remember when violent crime was on the rise, with the youth seemingly out of control? The Clinton Administration was at a loss as to how to deal with this, when over a period of the next few years, the problem seemed to subside. This drop in crime began nearly 20 years after the passage of Roe v. Wade. I agree that women should have the right to choose, and I pray that they choose life. However, in a world with poor sex ed, there are many single mothers that are not prepared to raise children, creating abused and angry youth and social decay by bearing children that they'd rather not. I think people make their own choices given the circumstances they've been dealt, and I'd rather see a woman in a clinic than a woman with a coat hanger.
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